Psalm 119, pt I: Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee

From Psalms

^{Psalm 119}
(Aleph)
¹Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
      who walk in the law of the Lord.
²Blessed are they that keep his testimonies,
      and that seek him with the whole heart.
³They also do no iniquity:
      they walk in his ways.
⁴Thou hast commanded us
      to keep thy precepts diligently.
⁵O that my ways were directed
      to keep thy statutes!
⁶Then shall I not be ashamed,
      when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
⁷I will praise thee with uprightness of heart,
      when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
⁸I will keep thy statutes:
      O forsake me not utterly.

(Beth)
⁹Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
      by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
¹⁰With my whole heart have I sought thee:
      O let me not wander from thy commandments.
¹¹Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
      that I might not sin against thee.
¹²Blessed art thou, O Lord:
      teach me thy statutes.
¹³With my lips have I declared
      all the judgments of thy mouth.
¹⁴I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies,
      as much as in all riches.
¹⁵I will meditate in thy precepts,
      and have respect unto thy ways.
¹⁶I will delight myself in thy statutes:
      I will not forget thy word.

I have finally made it to Psalm 119. The mother of all psalms.  With 176 verses it will be a journey within a journey.  Not only is it the longest psalm, it's also the longest chapter in the entire bible.  It's enough to make me procrastinate just thinking about.  I have yet to even scan all of my writings on it.  However, it's uniqueness is not just in its length.  Or the fact that it's 22 sections start with the sequential letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  The uniqueness is that each of its lament, praise, vindication, and deliverance requests are grounded in God's word, the Bible (or in the case of the Old Testament, The Torah) itself.  It's a prayer of
and for somebody who delights in and lives by the sacred law of the Bible/Torah.

So, I guess it should be no surprise that such a large part of my recovery was supported by my work in Psalms.  I can truly understand relate to psalmist in these first two sections.  I have kept God's word hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against Him.  I have rejoiced in the way of God's sacred word and testimonies as much as in all riches.  I see that the Psalms have brought more to my life than any material riches.  So, I meditate on the precepts and respect unto God's ways.  It delightful for me to read and I will always remember God's word.

 Thanks for letting me share.